Ugandan army abuses probe urged

By WIll Ross
BBC, Kampala

The army has failed to quell the 19-year rebellion

The International Criminal Court in The Hague should investigate abuses in northern Uganda by soldiers as well as rebels, a human rights group has said.

For almost two decades, Lord's Resistance Army rebels have been terrorising people in northern Uganda.

But Human Rights Watch said the very people supposed to be protecting civilians have been carrying out widespread abuses against them.

Uganda's army said HRW was exaggerating the levels of abuse by soldiers.

The report by the New York based group says soldiers in Uganda's national army, known as the UPDF, have raped, beaten, illegally detained and killed civilians in camps.

Executions

It adds that civilians often fear to report such abuse which it says leads to crimes being committed with impunity.

Ugandan military spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Shaban Bantariza, admitted that some crimes had been committed by individual soldiers who had then been punished.

Rebels have forced thousands from their homes

"They are trying to equate us with the rural terrorists - LRA," he said.

He maintained that they had a code of conduct and held court martials when necessary.

"We have executed some of our officers and our soldiers in those court martials for any offence they commit. So for us there is not such a thing as crime with impunity."

Atrocities committed by the LRA rebels are already being investigated by the ICC.

HRW also calls on the United Nations to dramatically increase its presence in northern Uganda to monitor what it calls "the widespread ongoing abuses committed by the LRA rebels and the Ugandan army".

During 19 years of war civilians have been killed, mutilated and displaced whilst thousands of children have been abducted and forced to fight for the LRA or be sex slaves for the rebel commanders.